Coupling device for a detachable shoe upper on a shoe

ABSTRACT

A slipper or sandal-type footwear having two or more coupling devices for detaching the upper shoe part from the plastic sole. The coupling devices are distributed around the edges of the shoe upper and have teeth-like prongs which mesh with resilient tongues positioned within sockets that are embedded in the sole. Buttons are provided on the sidewalls of the sole for releasing the prongs from the sockets when it is desired to exchange the shoe uppers on the sole. Methods of manufacture are provided for molding the sole and preventing leakage of the injected plastic into the sockets that would interfere with the operation of the coupling device. The socket can be manufactured with a frangible membrane that seals off the button orifice, or with a cap that fit around and encloses the entire socket.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to footwear having a deviceassociated with a sole and a detachable upper shoe part that allows auser to exchange shoe uppers and shoe soles at will.

[0002] In slipper-type footwear of the type comprising a molded sole andan upper part, particularly although not exclusively lady shoes, it isdesirable to have a variety of shoe uppers which can be exchanged onto asole at will, for instance to match colors and patterns of the attirefor a particular occasion.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,684, issued on 27 Apr., 1999 to Lin,discloses a simple shoe such as a sandal or slipper having detachabletoe and ankle straps. Each strap has at least a pair of mounting strips,each having a serrated plug strip, that fasten to a corresponding pairof locating members in the sole of the shoe. The locating members have aserrated constraint tongue that engages the serrated plug strips tosecure the uppers to the sole. A pin-like tool is manipulated by theuser for disengaging the serrated plug strip from the constraint tongueto detach the show upper from the sole. A housing means is provided inthe show upper for keeping the tool at hand.

[0004] The need for a tool to detach the shoe upper from the solerepresents several disadvantages in practice. Maneuverings and wedging atool in between the plug strip and the tongue is unappealing to mostladies. Furthermore, although housing means are provided for the tool,it could get lost. Again, many ladies do not enjoy tinkering about witha tool box to look for a suitable replacement, such as a screw-driver,especially after they are dressed up and have decided that they prefer adifferent shoe color or pattern to match a particular dress, purse, hat,etc.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0005] The present invention provides a coupling device comprisingelements affixed to the sole and shoe upper of a shoe to enable a userto fasten the shoe upper to the sole, and to easily detach the shoeupper from the sole without requiring a separate tool. The shoe uppercan be detached with hardly any force, such as by a lady or a youngchild, yet the coupling device resists unwillful detachment underextreme walking, jogging, jumping and climbing conditions, whatever theterrain. The shoes of the invention can have any design or shoe type,such as a slipper or sandal, ranging from leisure to evening dress. Theinvention provides a coupling device for use in detachably coupling ashoe upper to a shoe sole to enable a user to assemble and disassemblethe shoe at will, the sole having a body having a foot-bearing topsidebounded by at least one lateral side, the coupling device comprising: asocket, embeddable in the sole, the socket comprising: (i) an innerwall, an outer wall and two connecting side walls, forming a shafthaving a slotted opening penetrable through a foot-bearing topside ofthe sole; (ii) a tongue comprising a plurality of ratchet teeth, thetongue being resiliently movable from an unbiased engaged position and abiased disengaged position; and (iii) a button, depressable by a fingerof the user, the button having a first rest position and a seconddepressed position, the button being in direct communication with thetongue whereby when the button is in its rest position, the tongue is inits unbiased engaged position, and when the button is in the depressedposition, the tongue is in its biased disengaged position; and (b) aplug having a generally flat body and comprising: (i) an upper portionaffixable to the shoe upper; and (ii) at least one prong insertable intothe shaft through the slotted opening, the prong comprising a pluralityof complementary ratcheted teeth that detachably engage with theratcheted teeth of the tongue in its unbiased engaged position uponinsertion of the plug into the shaft, thereby coupling the plug to thesocket; whereby when the button is depressed to its depressed position,the tongue moves to the biased disengaged position, whereupon theratcheted teeth of the tongue disengage from the ratcheted teeth ofprong, and thereby the plug is uncoupled from the socket.

[0006] The invention also provides a new footwear manufacturingtechnique, utilizing the coupling device of the invention, toincorporate more and new designs, functional lines and shoetrees withversatility and economy. The invention includes a method formanufacturing a socket, for embedding in the sole of a shoe andreceiving for insertion therein a removable plug for coupling adetachable shoe upper to the sole to enable a user to assemble anddisassemble the shoe at will. The method comprises: (a) moldingintegrally the socket walls, base, tongue and button into a singlepiece, wherein the base is molded as a flat sheet having a first baseportion forming an open bottom end of the socket shaft, a thin hingeportion along one side of the first portion, and a second base portionjoined by the hinge portion to the first portion; and a frangiblemembrane affixed to the button and the outer wall to temporarily sealoff the orifice in the outer socket wall; (b) folding the second baseportion back under the first base portion to form the base of the socketshaft, thereby forming an assembled socket; (c) molding the assembledsocket into a resin-based shoe sole using a flowable resin; and (d)depressing the button, thereby breaking the frangible membrane. Themethod further preferably comprises the step of placing a cap over theassembled socket, the cap having an outer resilient wall enclosing anair space surrounding the button, thereby preventing flowable resin fromentering the air space during molding of the sole.

[0007] The invention also comprises a method where a plurality of aplugs are attached to a shoe upper, the plug having a generally flatbody and comprising: (i) an upper portion affixed to the shoe upper; and(ii) at least one prong insertable into the shaft through the slottedopening, the prong comprising a plurality of complementary ratchetedteeth that detachably engage with the ratcheted teeth of the tongue inits unbiased engaged position upon insertion of the plug into the shaft,thereby coupling the plug to the socket, and thereby attaching the shoeupper to the soleThe invention also provides a shoe that is adaptable toan array of exchangeable shoe uppers.

[0008] The invention also provides a two-part coupling device that ishardly visible to observers of a lady wearing the shoe, yet is simplefor her to access.

[0009] The invention further provides a method for molding a shoe solecomprising a shoe upper attachment/detachment socket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sole and a detached shoe upperthat can be assembled into a shoe by means of two or more couplingdevices of the present invention consisting of sockets 11 and plugs 15.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a socket embedded in the shoe soleshowing a partial cut-away of the sole.

[0012]FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a two-pronged plug.

[0013]FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through lines 4-4 ofFIG. 3.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a perspective view partially cut away of a couplingdevice in an uncoupled position.

[0015]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the coupling device of FIG. 5through line 6-6, shown in a coupled position.

[0016]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the coupling device of FIG. 5taken through line 6-6, shown in the uncoupled position, with the buttondepressed and with the plug withdrawn.

[0017]FIG. 8A is a plan view of a one-piece socket for a coupling deviceof the invention.

[0018]FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the one-piece socket of FIG.8A through line 8B-8B.

[0019]FIG. 9 is a partial view of the cross-sectional view of the socketof FIG. 8B, with the button depressed and showing a breached socketsidewall.

[0020]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cap used with another couplingdevice of the invention.

[0021]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the socket of FIG. 8A withthe cap of FIG. 10, when viewed through sectional line 11-11 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Terminology: As used herein, “upper” (when used as a noun) or“shoe upper” refer to an upper part of a shoe or other footwear, and caninclude a toecap part, a toecap patch, or an open-toe strap that coversthe forward part of the foot of a user, can include ankle and heelstraps, and can include unitary and integral combinations thereof.

[0023] As used herein, “horizontal” refers to a normal shoe position,i.e. with the sole resting on a horizontal surface.

[0024] As used herein, “outer” and “inner” refer to elements of thecoupling device positioned nearer and further away, respectively, fromthe nearest lateral side of the sole.

[0025] The coupling device comprises two parts: a socket and a plug. Thesocket is typically embedded into a shoe sole, while the plug istypically affixed to the shoe upper. However, the socket can be affixedto one of the sole and shoe upper, while the plug can be affixed to theother of the sole and shoe upper.

[0026] The socket comprises a plurality of sidewalls that form a shaftthat is adapted to receive the plug, a toothed tongue for engaging andlatching to the plug, and an integral release means for releasing thetongue from the plug, whereby the shoe upper can be detached from thesole. The tongue is resiliently connected at a first end to at least oneof the inner wall or the outer wall, and is preferably resilientlyconnected at an upper end by a resilient bridge to the inner wallproximate the slotted opening. The tongue comprises an upper portion anda lower portion having a surface facing the outer wall, the surfacepreferably having two toothed surfaces, each comprising the plurality ofratcheted teeth, astride a middle portion.

[0027] Each plug and socket part can be separately advantageouslymanufactured in one-piece.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, the plug has two spaced-apart toothedprongs, and the tongue has an end resiliently affixed to a sidewall ofthe socket. The integral release means, preferably a button, extendsthrough an orifice in the socket toward a nearest sidewall of the sole.The button communicates with the tongue by a stem joined to the button,the stem traversing the outer wall and connecting to a lower portion ofthe tongue. Within the socket, the button preferably passes between thepair of toothed prongs, and is integrally attached to the tongue,preferably to the middle, lower portion of the tongue, to communicatethe finger pressure applied to the button. The applied pressure on thebutton displaces the tongue away from the plug sufficiently to separatethe respective engaged teeth of the tongue and the prongs, therebydisengaging and releasing the plug.

[0029] Preferably the button is positioned within the sole in closeproximity to the lateral outer wall 9, as shown in FIG. 2. The sole canhave a raised mark 19 in lateral sidewall indicating the position of thebutton positioned proximately thereto. Alternatively, the button maybarely project from the flush surface of the sidewall of the sole. Theinvention provides for the button to go generally unnoticed by a casualobserver, yet is easily manipulated simply by pressing with a finger,without use of tools.

[0030] The invention further comprises a method of manufacture whereinthe shaft of the socket is sealed to keep it free from mold resin duringmolding of the sole body into which it is incorporated. The methodcomprises providing a socket body having a fold-over base that can coverthe socket opening. Preferably, the socket has a frangible membrane thatcloses off the socket space inside from the button housing. Preferably,the button has a base end joined to the stem, the outer wall has aninner-facing surface, and the membrane joins the button base end and theinner surface of the outer wall. The thin membrane temporarily seals offthe orifice in the outer wall to prevent flowable resin from enteringthe socket during molding of the sole. The frangible membrane can bebreached or broken after the socket has been molded into the sole, bysimply pressing the button, thereby making the coupling deviceoperational.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the socket is enclosed around itssidewalls by a cap prior to placing the socket inside the molded sole.The cap maintains an air gap in the space around the button. The capserves to keep the injected molding resin out from around the button,and provides a projecting surface outward from and engagable with thebutton to facilitate access to the button by a user. Although the capobviates the need for the membrane as a barrier to molding resin, themembrane is preferably also used since it helps to withstand inwarddepression of the button under the injection pressures of the moldingresin.

[0032] Construction and Operation: FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment ofthe invention of a shoe, such as a lady's high-heeled slipper,comprising a sole 1 molded from a resin and a shoe upper 3. The shoesole 1 has a top or foot-bearing surface 5, and a lateral outer wall 9.Six sockets 11, forming part of a like number of coupling devices, areembedded in the body of the sole 1. A like number of plugs 15 areattached to the bottom edge 7 of the shoe upper 3. Each socket 11comprises a tongue 33 to engage with its corresponding plug 15. Thetongue 33 is associated with a button 45 positioned proximate to thelateral outer wall 9 of the sole.

[0033]FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the socket 11 positioned in the topsurface 5 of the sole 1. The socket 11 has a shaft 27 and a slot-shapedopening 13 level with the top surface 5 that can receive a correspondingplug 15. The socket shaft 27 is generally oriented parallel to thenearest lateral side 9 of the sole 1. The tongue 33 communicates withthe button 45 via short stem 47 that traverses an orifice 41 (see FIG.8B) in the outer wall 43 of the socket. The rounded button 45 ispositioned proximate the lateral outer wall 9, as shown by the cut-awayportion of the sole of FIG. 2. The button 45 is preferably positionedadjacent to the outer wall 9 of the sole whereby a hump mark 19, formedfrom the sole resin material covering the button 45, identifies theposition of the button 45 to allow a user to locate and depress thebutton with a finger, while being generally unnoticable.

[0034]FIG. 3 shows a plug 15. The plug 15 is molded as a substantiallyflat piece from a suitable, generally stiff material selected frommaterials including but not limited to plastics, metal, and rubber.Preferably, the plug 15 has a top portion 17 that is affixed to the edge7 of the shoe upper 3 by any suitable means, such as stitching oradhesive. The top portion 17 is preferably trapezoidal, measuring about20.5 mm across the top, 11 mm down, and about 1.1 mm thick.

[0035] A pair of prongs 21 depends from the top portion 17, leaving arectangular cut-out portion 23 between the prongs. Preferably, eachprong 21 is about 13 mm long and 8 mm across, and has an inner faceratcheted with a plurality of ratchet teeth 25 that have a 1 mm pitch.FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a prong that shows the shape of the teeth25. The thickness of each prong is preferably about 2.10 mm at itswidest portion and 1.34 mm at its thinner portion. The teeth 25 areshaped in a typical saw-tooth configuration such that a first edge ofeach tooth 25 is generally perpendicular to the direction of movement ofthe prong 21 during insertion into the socket opening 13 for properlylatching into the socket with the teeth of the tongue. The adjacentsecond edge of each tooth 25 is at an angle of about 30° to saiddirection of movement, to facilitate insertion.

[0036] As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the socket 11 comprises a prismbody having an outer wall 43, an inner wall 35, and connecting wallswhich enclose a shaft 27, and an integral laminar base 29. The sidewallsand the base are fixed within the sole 1. The base 29 closes off thebottom of the shaft 27 of the socket 11. The base 29 is preferablyprovided with holes 31A and cut-outs 31B for better anchoring of thesocket 11 into the resin of the sole.

[0037] A tongue 33 has a top edge attached to the inner wall 35 by arelatively thin resilient hinge portion 37 that enables the tonguemember 33 to sway or pivot in an arch toward and away from the innerwall 35. As shown in FIG. 6, the outward-facing surface of the tongue 33has a plurality of vertically spaced ratchet teeth 39 that aresaw-toothed shaped and are dimensioned to mesh with the plug teeth 25when the plug 15 is inserted in the socket 11. Short flat valleys 26, asshown in FIG. 4, positioned between each tooth 25 of the prong 21 andtooth 39 of the tongue 33, ensure proper engagement even when the prong21 is not inserted perfectly straight into the socket 11, and preservethe sharp edges of the teeth from breaking off. For a 1.0 mm spacingbetween the teeth, the flat valley 26 can be about 0.3 mm, or 30% of thespacing.

[0038] A short stem 47 connects the button 45 to the tongue 33, at aboutthe middle of the tongue member 33 between the pairs of extended teeth39. The shaft 27 is sized to accommodate the plug 15. The shaft ispreferably about 10.0 mm long, 28.5 mm wide and 2.3 mm across (i.e. theshaft portion receiving the plug prongs 21 and excluding the shaftportion housing the tongue 33 or 5.9 mm across including the portionhousing the tongue 33). The socket walls 35, 43 are preferably 2.2 mmthick and formed at about a 12° angle with the base 29 so that the plug15 is not exactly vertical when plugged into the socket 11. The tongue33 is preferably about 24.5 mm wide and can be pushed back 14° from itsnormal position (i.e. when the plane of its teeth 39 is parallel to theinner and outer socket walls 35, 43) against the inner wall 35, and theresilient hinge 37 is preferably about 0.4 mm thick. Preferably, theorifice 41 is about 11.8 mm wide and 6.0 mm down, the button 45 is about5.3 mm long, 3.0 mm down and 8.7 mm at the base, narrowing at 8° towardsthe outer end, and the stem 47 is about 6.0 mm across.

[0039] A user can attach a shoe upper 3 to a sole 1 by inserting andpushing each plug 15 down into its corresponding socket 11, until eachprong 21 engages the tongue 33. To exchange the shoe upper for one of adifferent pattern, color or design, the user depresses with a fingereach button 45, causing the respective stem 47 to urge the tongue member33 towards the inner wall 35 of the socket 11 sufficiently for the teeth39 of the tongue 33 thereof to disengage and unlatch from the plug teeth25, and pulls the unlatched plug 15 upwards. No accessory tool is keptat hand, fetched or searched for, and scant human force is required tounlatch the plugs. The buttons 39 are sufficiently conspicuouslyarranged so that a user can locate and press the buttons, even if herfingernails are long or have just been painted, and yet are sufficientlyconcealed so as not to interfere with the aesthetics of the shoe sole.

[0040] Manufacture: The sockets 11, the plugs 15 and the sole 1 can bemolded. Integrated one-piece constructions are preferred. Methods formolding the plug 15 are well known in the art.

[0041] The socket elements, including the socket walls, base, tongue,stem and button, are preferably formed integrally in a single piece.However, creating a die for manufacturing the socket 11 is complicatedwhen the tongue 33 and button 45 are to be integrated into a singlepiece with the socket walls 35, 43 and base 29.

[0042] According to another aspect of the invention, the socket 11 isinitially molded with a shaft 27 open from the top opening 13 to itsbottom. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the initial socket design. The die isshaped to include an extended base sheet comprised of a proximal portion51 about the bottom shaft opening and a remote portion 53 connected tothe proximal portion by a thin hinge portion 55. The hinge portion 55 ispreferably about 0.2 mm thick. The base portions 51, 53, and 55 aremolded integrally with the rest of the socket components in one piece.

[0043] Once the mould is set and the socket 11 is removed from the die,the remote base portion 53 is folded back under the proximal baseportion 51 about the base hinge portion 55, thereby closing off the base29 of the socket shaft 27. The socket 11 can thereafter be placed in adie for molding the sole 1, with the socket opening 13 against thebottom of the upside-down sole die. Both ends of the shaft 27 are thuseffectively sealed to avoid resinous sole material from seeping into theshaft, which if it remained would obstruct the insertion of the plugduring use.

[0044] A further problem of keeping the flowable sole material out ofthe socket shaft during molding is associated with the orifice 41 in theouter wall 43. The orifice 41 allows the button 45 and/or stem 47 tomovably traverse the outside wall 43 FIG. 9 shows a preferred embodimentthat provides a solution to this problem. The socket 11 is molded with athin, frangible membrane 59, preferably about 0.1 mm thick, flush withthe outer wall 43 that seals the orifice 41. The membrane 59 preventsresin from seeping into the socket 11 through the orifice 41 during themolding of the sole.

[0045] Furthermore, the button 45 can be shaped so as to provide a largebase area bearing against the membrane 59. The sole 1 is cast in a diewherein the entire socket shaft 27 is maintained free of resinousmaterial. Once the sole has set and is removed from the die, with thesockets 11 (preferably about six sockets per shoe) embedded therein, therelease operation can include a step of pressing each button 45 tobreach the frangible membrane 59, since the latter has already servedits resin prevention purpose.

[0046] A more preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10and 11. FIG. 10 shows a cap 61. FIG. 11 is a sectional view of thesocket of FIG. 8A, taken through a horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 9,showing the cap 61 positioned to surround the outer wall 43, sidewalls,and part of the inner wall 35 of the socket 11, thereby covering thebutton 45 and enclosing an air space environment or gap 63 surroundingthe button 45. The cap 61 is generally a four-sided piece of plasticpartially opened at an inner side 65, and has a rounded convex outerside 67 which, in position, forms a cover for the button 45. Duringmanufacture of the sole 1, the outer wall 67 of the cap 61 prevents theflowable resin (for example, polyurethane) that is injected into themold from entering in the air gap 63, which upon curing would preventthe button from being depressed with a finger.

[0047] The outer cap wall 61 further provides a button area which isboth enlarged and resilient. The cover wall 67 is more preferablyconvexly curved to provide resilient inward flexure for optimumoperation.

[0048]FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the socket of FIG. 8A, takenthrough a horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 9. One or more recesses 69provided at the bottom of the sidewalls accommodate anchorage flanges 71provided in the socket base, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0049] Although the cover wall 67 provides the resin-exclusion functionof the membrane 59 in the first embodiment, it is preferred to includethe membrane 59 since it resists depression of the cover wall 67 and thebutton 45 under the pressure of the injected molding resin, whichotherwise might prematurely depress the cover wall and button and, ifcured under this condition, could cause the coupling device tomalfunction.

[0050] While the invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes can be made and equivalents can be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situationor step to the teachings of the invention includes all embodimentsfalling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A coupling device for use in detachably coupling a shoe upper to ashoe sole to enable a user to assemble and disassemble the shoe at will,the sole having a body having a foot-bearing topside bounded by at leastone lateral side, the coupling device comprising: (a) a socket,embeddable in the sole, the socket comprising: (i) an inner wall, andouter wall, and two connecting side walls, forming a shaft having aslotted opening penetrable through a foot-bearing topside of the sole;(ii) a tongue comprising a plurality of ratchet teeth, the tongue beingresiliently movable from a unbiased engaged position and a biaseddisengaged position; and (iii) a button, depressable by a finger of theuser, the button having a first rest position and a second depressedposition, the button being in direct communication with the tonguewhereby when the button is in its rest position, the tongue is in itsunbiased engaged position, and when the button is in the depressedposition, the tongue is in its biased disengaged position; and (b) aplug having a generally flat body and comprising: (i) an upper portionaffixable to the shoe upper; and (ii) at least one prong insertable intothe shaft through the slotted opening, the prong comprising a pluralityof complementary ratcheted teeth that detachably engage with theratcheted teeth of the tongue in its unbiased engaged position uponinsertion of the plug into the shaft, thereby coupling the plug to thesocket; whereby when the button is depressed to its depressed position,the tongue moves to the biased disengaged position, whereupon theratcheted teeth of the tongue disengage from the ratcheted teeth ofprong, and thereby the plug is uncoupled from the socket.
 2. A couplingdevice according to claim 1, the socket further comprising a baseclosing the bottom of the shaft, and wherein the tongue is resilientlyconnected at a first end to at least one of the inner wall or the outerwall.
 3. A coupling device according to claim 2, wherein the tongue isresiliently connected at an upper end by a resilient bridge to the innerwall proximate the slotted opening.
 4. A coupling device according toclaim 3, wherein the button communicates with the tongue by a stemjoined to the button, the stem traversing the outer wall and connectingto a lower portion of the tongue.
 5. A coupling device according toclaim 2, wherein the slotted opening is substantially level with thesole topside.
 6. A coupling device according to claim 1, wherein thetongue comprises an upper portion and a lower portion having a surfacefacing the outer wall, the surface having two toothed surfaces, eachcomprising the plurality of ratcheted teeth, astride a middle portion towhich the stem is connected.
 7. A coupling device according to claim 6,wherein the plug comprises two prongs depending from the upper portionand spaced apart by a slot arranged to straddle the stem when the plugis inserted into the shaft, the teeth of the prongs each engaging withthe teeth surface of the tongue.
 8. A coupling device according to claim2, wherein the socket walls, base, tongue, stem and button are integralin a single piece.
 9. A coupling device according to claim 8, whereinthe socket is formed with a thin membrane sealing off the orifice fromthe shaft to prevent flowable resin from entering the socket duringmolding of the sole, the membrane being breakable by pressing the buttonafter the sole has been molded.
 10. A coupling device according to claim9, wherein the button has a base end joined to the stem, the outer wallhas an inner-facing surface, and the membrane joins the button base endand the inner surface of the outer wall.
 11. A shoe sole comprising anembedded socket of the coupling device according to claim 1, the solehaving an orifice in a lateral side wall extending in to the embeddedsocket to house the button of the socket.
 12. A coupling deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the socket is molded with an extended basesheet at the bottom thereof and with the socket initially open all theway through from top to bottom, the extended base sheet including ahinged portion adapted to be folded back to form the base closing offthe socket bottom prior to molding the sole.
 13. A coupling deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the socket walls and the button areenclosed in a cap, the cap comprising an outer resilient wall enclosingan air space environment surrounding the button.
 14. A coupling deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein the outer resilient wall of the cap isconvexly curved to provide resilient inward flexure.
 15. A couplingdevice according to claim 8, wherein the single piece is enclosed withina cap, the cap including an outer resilient wall enclosing an air spaceenvironment surrounding the button.
 16. A coupling device for use indetachably coupling a shoe upper to a shoe sole to enable a user toassemble and disassemble the shoe at will, the sole having a body havinga foot-bearing topside bounded by at least one lateral side, thecoupling device comprising: (a) a socket, affixed to one of the sole andshoe upper, the socket comprising: (i) an inner wall, and outer wall,and two connecting side walls, forming a shaft having a slotted opening;(ii) a tongue comprising a plurality of ratchet teeth, the tongue beingresiliently movable from a unbiased engaged position and a biaseddisengaged position; and (iii) a button, depressable by a finger of theuser, the button having a first rest position and a second depressedposition, the button being in communication with the tongue whereby whenthe button is in its rest position, the tongue is in its unbiasedengaged position, and when the button is in the depressed position, thetongue is in its biased disengaged position; and (b) a plug having agenerally flat body and comprising: (i) an upper portion affixed to theother of the sole or shoe upper; and (ii) at least one prong insertableinto the shaft through the slotted opening, the prong comprising aplurality of complementary ratcheted teeth that detachably engage withthe ratcheted teeth of the tongue in its unbiased engaged position uponinsertion of the plug into the shaft, thereby coupling the plug to thesocket; whereby when the button is depressed to its depressed position,the tongue moves to the biased disengaged position, whereupon theratcheted teeth of the tongue disengage from the ratcheted teeth ofprong, and thereby the plug is uncoupled from the socket.
 17. A methodfor manufacturing a socket for embedding in the sole of a shoe andreceiving for insertion therein a removable plug for coupling adetachable shoe upper to the sole to enable a user to assemble anddisassemble the shoe at will, the socket comprising an inner wall, anouter wall, and two sidewalls each adjacent the outer and inner walls,and a base attached to bottoms of the walls, the walls and baseenclosing a shaft having a slotted opening at the top of the socketgenerally level with the sole topside, the outer wall having a orificetherethrough, the socket further comprising: (i) a tongue comprising aplurality of ratcheted teeth, the tongue attached to the inner wall andbeing resiliently movable from a unbiased engaged position and a biaseddisengaged position; and (ii) a button, depressable by a finger of theuser, the button being in direct communication through the orifice withthe tongue whereby the tongue is in its unbiased engaged position whenthe button is in its rest position, and the tongue is in its biaseddisengaged position when the button is in the depressed position, thebutton being positioned outside the outer wall and having a stem thattraverses the outer wall and attaches to the tongue; wherein the methodcomprises: (a) molding integrally the socket walls, base, tongue andbutton into a single piece, wherein: the base is molded as a flat sheethaving: a first base portion forming an open bottom end of the socketshaft, a thin hinge portion along one side of the first portion, and asecond base portion joined by the hinge portion to the first portion;and a frangible membrane affixed to the button and the outer wall totemporarily seal off the orifice in the outer wall of the socket; (b)folding the second base portion back under the first base portion toform the base of the socket shaft, thereby forming an assembled socket;(c) molding the assembled socket into a resin-based shoe sole using aflowable resin; and (d) depressing the button, thereby breaking thefrangible membrane.
 18. A method according to claim 17, furthercomprising the step of placing a cap over the assembled socket, the caphaving an outer resilient wall enclosing an air space surrounding thebutton, thereby preventing flowable resin from entering the air spaceduring molding of the sole.
 19. A method for manufacturing a shoecomprising a sole comprising a body having a foot-bearing topsidebounded by at least one lateral side, at least one shoe upper detachablycoupled to the sole, and a plurality of coupling devices for removablyattaching the shoe upper to the sole to enable a user to assemble,disassemble and reassemble the shoe at will with exchangeable shoeuppers, the method comprising the steps of: (A) attaching a plurality ofa plug to a shoe upper, the plug having a generally flat body andcomprising: (i) an upper portion affixed to the shoe upper; and (ii) atleast one prong insertable into the shaft through the slotted opening,the prong comprising a plurality of complementary ratcheted teeth thatdetachably engage with the ratcheted teeth of the tongue in its unbiasedengaged position upon insertion of the plug into the shaft, therebycoupling the plug to the socket; (B) providing a plurality of thesockets, a socket comprising (i) an inner wall, an outer wall, and twosidewalls each adjacent the outer and inner walls, and a base attachedto bottoms of the walls, the walls and base enclosing a shaft having aslotted opening at the top of the socket generally level with the soletopside, the outer wall having a orifice therethrough, (ii) a tonguecomprising a plurality of ratcheted teeth, the tongue attached to theinner wall and being resiliently movable from a unbiased engagedposition and a biased disengaged position; (iii) a button, depressableby a finger of the user, the button being in direct communication withthe tongue whereby the tongue is in its unbiased engaged position whenthe button is in its rest position, and the tongue is in its biaseddisengaged position when the button is in the depressed position, thebutton being positioned outside the outer wall and having a stem thattraverses the outer wall and attaches to the tongue; and (iv) afrangible membrane affixed to the button and the outer wall totemporarily seal off the orifice in the outer wall of the socket; (C)molding the socket into a resin-based shoe sole, whereby the socketopening is level with the topside of the sole; (D) depressing thebutton, thereby breaking the frangible membrane; and (E) inserting theplurality of plugs of the shoe upper through the corresponding socketopenings and into the socket shaft, thereby coupling the plug to thesocket and attaching the shoe upper to the sole.
 20. A method accordingto claim 19, wherein in the step (B) of providing a plurality of thesockets, the socket further comprises the step of placing a cap over thesocket, the cap having an outer resilient wall enclosing an air spacesurrounding the button, thereby preventing flowable resin from enteringthe air space during molding of the sole.